Doll



A. M. KATZ March 6, 1934.

DOLL

Filed Jan. 15, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l MMM/ m M INVENTOR.

BY q. M

A TTORNEYS.

A. M. KATZ March 6, 1934.

DOLL

Filed Jan. 15. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y E N m T A I March 6, 1934. M, ATZ1,949,867

DOLL

Filed Jan. 15, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

BY WZ/M/q M A TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT: OFFICE Abraham M. Katz,Brooklyn, N. Y.,'"assig'nor'to Ideal Novelty &'Toy Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application January 15, 1932, Serial No.586,718

8 Claims. (Cl. 4640) My invention relates to a. new and improved doll.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro- Ivide a doll having a bodywhich is constructed so 5 as to'simulate the .appearance and the feel ofthe body of a child.

Another object of my invention is to provide a doll whose body consistsof a resilient frame, said frame being covered by a soft rubber member.

2 I Another object of my invention is to provide a doll of this typewhich can be economically manufactured.

"-'Another object of my invention is to provide 'a' doll of this type inwhich the frame of the body 15 has relatively soft rubber inserts atspecified portions thereof.

- Other objects of my invention will be set forth in the followingdescription and drawings which illustrate a preferred embodimentthereof.

'. 2o 1 is a front elevation.

- Fig. 2'is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the covering mask for the body frame.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the body frame. Fig. 5 'is' a rearelevation of the rear member of the body frame.

- Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the front member of the body frame. 30Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 77 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is asectional view on the line 88 of Fi 6.

Fig. 9 illustrates the blank from which the 3'5 front member of the bodyframe is made.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

. Fig. 11 is an elevation of the blank from which the rear frame memberis made. (0. Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11.

Y 13 is a sectional view on the line l3'-13 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 14 is a detail sectional view of the front .45 frame member.

' The doll has a head H, arms A and legs L which may be made of anysuitable material. I prefer to make the arms and the legs from rubber sothat said arms and legs can be readily squeezed,

- BObent and twisted. However, the rubber has suf- 6'6terial, and theserigid'members may be provided with voices so that sound is produced whenthe arms or legs are squeezed. As shown in Fig. 1, the members W may beprovided with inner shoulders which vinterlockwith the hook-like inneredges of the legs L. The rigid inserts W are so provided with inwardlyprojecting members of the usual type, and said members 25 are connectedto each other by means of elastic cords 22. Said elastic cords 22 arealso connected to a member 24 which is connected to a spring frame 5, 23which is held in the head H.

The frame of the body consists of a front member 1a and a rear member 1.Said members l and 1a can be made of any suitable resilient material,.such as a cork-rubber composi- 79 tion. This composition is made byintermixing rubber andcork and then vulcanizing the rubber. While themembers 1 and 1a are bendable, so that the body of the doll can be bentby squeezing the same, said. members 1 and 1a have sufiicient stiffnessso that the frame of the body maintains a normal and predeterminedshape. The use of a cork-rubber composition is superior to the use ofmetal or rubber, because metal is too stiff and rubber is either toostiff ,or too bendable. 30 The frame members 1 and 1a are provided withribs 7 and 7a which simulate the ribs of a human body.

Said members 1 and 1a also have interlocking portions 21 and 21a so asto prevent any longi- .5 tudinal shifting and to serve as a guide forassembling the members 1 and 1a. Said members 1 and la are connected bymeans of strips 3 of any suitable material such as a fabric, and. vsaidstrips 3 are connected to the members 1 and 1a by any suitable adhesive.Metal clips could be used for connecting the. members 1 and 1a. Themembers 1 and 1a are provided with pairs of recesses 5 and 5a which formleg openings L and the frame members are also provided with pairs ofrecesses 4 and 4a which provide arm openings A e As shown in Figs. 5 and6, the lower and upper portions of the frame members are tapered, andthe tops of the frame members are provided with mo recesses 6a and 6bwhich form a neck opening.

As shown in Figs. 9 and 11, the cork rubber composition is first cutinto flat sheets of suitable shape. The rear surfacesof said flat sheetsmay be reinforced by sheets of-fabric 9 and 9a, which 5 may be canvas orother suitable material. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 9 and 11certain of the edges of the reinforcing sheets 9 and 9a are spaced fromthe corresponding edges of the cork-rubber sheets. However, I do notWish to no exclude a construction in which each reinforcing sheetcoincides with the cork-rubber sheet.

As shown in Fig. 9, the blank for forming the front member la isprovided with openings 10 and 10a, having edges 9b, at the breastportions, and with an opening 11 at the navel portion. Said opening 11has an edge or wall 11a. Each sheet of cork-rubber composition may beassembled with its reinforcing sheet by means of pressure and a suitablerubber adhesive. Any other adhesive may be also employed. The sheets ofcork-rubber composition may be assembled with the reinforcing sheets bymeans of pressure alone.

The front and rear members 1 and 1a are formed into the shape shown inFig. 4 by the heat and pressure which are utilized when the material isvulcanized.

The reinforcing material 9 and 9a preferably has openings whichcorrespond to the openings 10, 10a and 11. However, if desired, thereinforcing material 9 and 9a may be imperforate.

In order to form the breast portions of the front frame member, sheetsof rubber 15 and 15a are assembledd with the cork-rubber sheet prior tothe vulcanization thereof. Likewise, the material for forming the hollowrubber plug 8, having an inner opening 8a, is assembled with the edge11a of the opening 11. This may be done by any of the usual methodsemployed in connecting sheets of unvulcanized rubber.

When the front member is subjected to heat and pressure, in order toshape and vulcanize the same and to shape and vulcanize the members 15and 15a, the rubber sheets 15 and 15a are spread laterally so as to formmarginal edges 15b and 150. The breast portions are thus formed offlexible vulcanized rubber so that they are much more bendable than therelatively rigid body frame. The plug 8 is shaped and vulcanized andjoined to the front frame member by the heat and pressure, and theintegral flange of said plug 8 spreads so that a flange having theoutline 8c is formed, as shown in Fig. 1.

The body frame members are also provided with inner reinforcing ribs 16and 16a. The rear frame member is also provided with a rib 16a having arecess 16b. A rod 1'1 fits within the recess 16b and this rod 17 whichcan be made of metal or any suitable rigid material, has a flange 18which fits over the inner end of the plug 8. A voice or whistle member Wmay be located within the hollow plug 8, so that if the navel portion ofthe body is squeezed, a sound is produced. This voice member W issufliciently narrow to permit the navel portion to be readily squeezedand it may be omitted.

The frame which is thus produced is covered by a thick mask 20 which ismade of soft stretchable vulcanized rubber. This mask 20 can have aflesh color and. it can be readily pulled over the body frame, as shownin Fig. 2. For this purpose the bottom of the mask may be slitted, sothat it can be pulled into position and the slitted edges can then bejoined in any suitable manner. The mask 20 has arm openings 20a and legopenings 20b, and a neck opening 6.

The rod 17 prevents the navel member 8 from being too yieldable when thenavel portion of the body of the-doll is squeezed.

The complete front member can be readily manufactured by providing fiatsheets of unvulcanized rubber adjacent the openings 10, 10a and 11, andthen vulcanizing and shaping the assembled parts and also connectingthem to each other, by means of heat and pressure, so as to form thebreast portions 15 and 15a and the navel portion 8. The mask 20 fitstightly over the body frame so as to form an enclosed cup in combinationwith the member 8. Likewise, the breast portions of the mask 20 maycomprise projections, and these projections form closed cups, with thebreast portions 15 and 15a of the front body member. That is, a body ofair is enclosed between each breast portion 15 or 1511 and thecorresponding projecting breast portion of the mask 20.

As shown in Fig. 5, the rear member 1 is provided with a flange 19 whichengages the corresponding portion of the wall of the front member 1awhen the body members are assembled so as to prevent any lateralrelative shifting in said body members. While I have specified the useof a cork rubber composition, I do not wish to be limited to the use ofcork, as this could be replaced by other filling material with which therubber could be compounded so as to combine the necessary qualities ofresilience and stiffness. I prefer to use fifteen percent of cork in thematerial for making the body of the doll.

While I prefer to simultaneously shape and connect the various parts ofthe front frame member by the heat and pressure, and simultaneousvulcanization, it would not be departing from my invention if the breastmembers and the navel member were separately manufactured and were thenconnected to the front frame member by means of any suitable adhesive.

The material of the mask is sufficiently thick and soft so that saidmaterial may be compressed and yield to a certain extent, withoutbending the frame. This gives a more life-like effect than if a thinrubber mask was utilized, because a thin rubber mask would not yieldunless the pressure was sufiiciently strong to make the frame yield.However, I do not wish to limit the invention to a mask of anyparticular thickness. For example, it is not necessary to provide acontinuous covering mask 20 in order to secure some of the advantages ofmy invention. If for example the wall of the body member would beprovided with a stretchable rubber member at the navel portion thereof,the voice member located within the projection 8 could be actuated.Likewise, thebreast portions of the covering mask 20 may be consideredas comprising outer breast members which are aligned with the relativelyyieldable breast portions of the body frame.

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is clearthat numerous changes and omissions could be made without departing fromits spirit.

I claim:

1. A doll having a resilient body member which is provided with anopening at the navel portion thereof, said body member having a coveringof extensible rubber, said body member being more rigid than saidcovering, said covering being sufficiently thick and soft so that it canyieldindependently of said body member sufficiently to simulate humanflesh, and a voice member located in said navel portion and operated bythe inward movement of said covering, and rigid spacing means holdingsaid voice member spaced from the rear wall of the doll.

2. A doll having a body member which has an opening, an inner cup-shapedprojection made of rubber and connected to the edge portion of saidopening, said projection being vulcanized to the edge portion of saidopening, said edge portion being made of rubber composition, and rigidspacing means intermediate said projection and the opposite wall of thebody member.

3. A doll having a. body member which has an opening, an innercup-shaped projection made of rubber and connected to the edge portionof said opening, said projection being vulcanized to the edge portion ofsaid opening, said edge portion being made of rubber composition, saidprojection having a voice member located therein and said opening havingan outer cover of stretchable rubber, and rigid spacing meansintermediate said projection and the opposite wall of the body member.

4. A doll having a body member which is provided with an opening, aninner cup-shaped proiection made of rubber and connected to the edgeportion of said opening, and a stiffening member located between andabutting the inner wall of said protection and the opposite inner wallof said body member.

5. A doll having a body member having openings at the breast portionsthereof, rubber members softer than said body member connected to saidbody member and covering said openings, and an outer covering ofyieldable rubber.

6. A doll having a body member provided with openings at its breastportion, said body member having yieldable breast portions in saidopenings which are vulcanized to said body member, said breast portionsbeing softer than said body member.

7. A doll having a body member provided with openings at its breastportion, said body member having yieldable breast portions in saidopenings which are vulcanized to said body member, said breast portionsbeing softer than said body member, that part of said body member whichis adjacent said breast portions being made of a rubber composition.

8. A doll having a resilient body member which is provided with anopening, a sound producing device located in the interior of said bodymember and aligned with said opening, said body member having a coveringof yieldable rubber which is softer than said body member and which issufliciently soft to simulate human flesh, that portion of said coveringwhich registers with said opening serving as a diaphragm to actuate saidsound producing device, and rigid spacing means holding said devicespaced from the opposite wall of the body member.

ABRAHAM M. KATZ.

